MINNEAPOLIS The University of Denver rode the hot goaltending of senior Peter Mannino (Farmington Hills, Mich.) and scored three power-play goals en route to a convincing 5-1 win over No. 8 Minnesota tonight before 9,827 fans at Mariucci Arena. Sophomore Tyler Ruegsegger (Lakewood, Colo.) led the way for DU with two goals, while Rhett Rakhshani (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Brock Trotter (Brandon, Manitoba) netted one goal and two assists each, respectively. The Pioneers improve to 5-2-0 overall and 2-1-0 in the WCHA. Minnesota falls to 4-3-0, 0-3-0.

 

“Our guys turned in a great effort on the road,” DU head coach George Gwozdecky said. “We finally broke through on the power play and Peter gave us a chance to gain the lead with outstanding play in net.”

 

The win marked the first of Mannino’s career against the Golden Gophers. Mannino stopped a season-high 36 shots, including 26 during the pivotal first two periods. The senior netminder allowed one goal or less for the fifth time this season. Tyler Bozak (Regina, Saskatchewan) added a goal and an assist, while Patrick Mullen (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Anthony Maiani (Shelby Township, Mich.) added two assists each as DU improves to 2-1-0 on the road.

 

Rakhshani staked DU to a 1-0 lead with a goal at 16:57 of the opening period. Rakhshani carried the puck into the Gopher zone and beat Jeff Frazee (23 saves) five-hole from the right circle. Minnesota outshot Denver, 12-6, but Mannino stopped all 12 shots in the period.

 

Ruegsegger’s power-play goal at 2:23 of the second period gave DU a 2-0 lead. Frazee allowed the second five-hole goal when Ruegsegger scored from the left circle. Ruegsegger’s second power-play goal of the night at 16:02 gave DU a commanding 3-0 lead after two periods.

 

The Pioneers increased their lead to 4-0 when Trotter banged in a rebound 43 seconds into the third period on the power play. Bozak made it 5-0 when he scored from the low slot off a feed from Trotter at 6:05.

 

A delayed penalty gave Minnesota a man advantage and Ryan Flynn erased Mannino’s shutout bid at 11:10 of the final stanza. Denver was outshot 37-28 in the game, but the Pioneers tallied a 3-for-7 effort on the power play. Minnesota finished 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

 

The Pioneers and Golden Gophers play game two of the series on Sunday, Nov. 4. Puck drop is scheduled for 1:07 p.m. MT.

 

Notes: Ruegsegger matched a career high with two goals. Trotter and Rakhshani matched career highs with three points each. Mannino improved to 5-2-0 with a 1.34 GAA and .934 Sv% on the season. DU set a season high with three power-play goals.